New products often make me sad. Not in a “quick cry” kind of way, but in a “who the hell designed this?” kind of way.
Let me explain.
New products are usually the result of someone deciding that whatever is currently available (if something is) to solve a problem isn’t good enough, so they make a new way of doing things, a better way (sometimes).
I’m not sad about that bit.
What makes me mostly sad is that often times very good ideas are poorly executed, because the designer (if there was one) didn’t step back at any point and ask this question: “what’s the simplest way to make this work.”
Note that: the simplest. Not the most cutting edge way. Not the latest and greatest technology way. Not the coolest way. The simplest might actually be the coolest, the most cutting edge and may even involve the latest technology; but, it’s always the simplest.
Why?
Simple really (pun intended), the simplest makes your product easy, and most times intuitive to use.
Let’s take an example: twitter. The website, in my humble opinion, is not the best in the world, and makes managing a large follower base pretty hard. However, if all you want to do is knock out a couple of quick tweets, it doesn’t get much simpler that loading up twitter.com, and off you go, type, press “tweet” and you’re done.
Keeping in mind simple, the designers of twitter also understood something else: Not only do they know that they’re not the best people to sort out the easiest way to use the service, they encourage others to offer something better, by providing their own API, so someone, anyone (almost) can write a client that makes it easy to not only tweet, but to manage your followers, and manage how you consume the tweets of the people you follow.
How easy is it to use your service or offering? If you don’t do tech, how easy is it to buy from you? Can you make it easier? How about letting people have access to your offering, so they can offer it in new and perhaps better ways?
You’re already thinking of five great reasons why that’s just not how your service or offering should be consumed, or you’re convincing yourself that there’s just no way you can give up that kind of control, aren’t you? If you are, then I’m aiming this post at you.
You’re an ecommerce shop, so you have to have control? Look at Amazon.
You’re a social media site, it couldn’t possibly work? Look at Facebook.
It’s probably true, there are a thousand reasons not to let people have access and control. But it only takes one killer reason to let them, and your business could easily go from small to world-class.
No matter how many good things you can do, the crowd can do it better. As a small operation, or even as a large one, you’ll have fixed ideas about things, and you’ll never be the best at all things; you’re like me, only human, which means sometimes we focus on form not function. Opening up and letting go can only help you get better, not get worse.
Finally, remember, some one out there can always do it better. Why not have them working with you, rather than being your next competitor? Not being bound by just your own skills and not letting convention or fixed ideas rule your business sets you apart, and that’s what lets businesses grow and prosper.
Image Credit: Sensible Fix for a Stupid Design, by Brendan Adkins on Flickr, used under creative commons with attribution license.
